South Korean Rock Star Arrested for Cannabis Use Could Face Years in Prison

K-Pop star T.O.P. tested positive for marijuana during an 2016 drug test, and now he’s facing the full wrath of the country’s harsh drug laws.

It’s been a bad week for musicians and marijuana. Earlier this week Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan was charged with felony weed possession that could land him years in a Georgia jail. Now, half-way across the world, Korean pop star/rapper T.O.P. is facing the full weight of the Asian country’s strict cannabis laws after being arrested over a positive drug test from October of last year.

According to gossip site Perez Hilton, T.O.P., who found fame rapping with the inanely popular K-Pop group Big Bang, took a leave stardom late last year to serve a mandatory two year stint with the South Korean military. While training for a spot in the Korean National Police Agency, T.O.P. and a member of his class smoked marijuana and failed a mandatory drug test.

Now, more than half a year since the incident, the rapper has been arrested by Seoul police and charged with the use of marijuana, a crime that carries a possible punishment of five years in prison and a fine equivalent to $60,000 in Korean won.

To make matters worse, YG Entertainment, the agency that put together Big Bang and turned them into superstars has already released a statement confirming T.O.P.’s guilt.

"It is true that T.O.P smoked marijuana before the enlistment and we sincerely apologise for the outcome. The rapper has undergone a full police investigation, and is regretting his wrongdoing." The company said in a statement.

Only time will tell if T.O.P. will be able to use his stardom to avoid the full force of the law, but so far, things are not looking good for the Korean rapper.

published on June 3, 2017

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia whose work has appeared on Noisey, First We Feast, and Jenkem Magazine. You can find him on Twitter @10000youtubes complaining about NBA referees.